Most effecient way of setting up drum sounds w/ analog gear.

[Horkin My Lunch]

When I say "drum sounds", I mean the overall sound of the drums you're trying to achieve with compressors or EQs before whatever you're tracking to (tape, pro tools, etc.). I don't EQ going in, but I'm having difficulty being time efficient when setting up sounds. So, Home Recording Forums, what methods do you use to set up compression (or even EQ tips if you're so inclined) in the analog arena?

edit: i spelled efficient wong in the title. i am a dumb.

 

[Massive Master]

I'm not even sure of what you're asking...

Short of literally "changing" drum sounds (as you might be inclined to do for metal or what not), the drums should sound pretty much the way you want them to before you even put a mic on them.

Nothing is going to save an out-of-tune kit.

Nothing is going to save a kit with bad heads.

Nothing is going to save a kit with the wrong sound.

Drummers that don't hit "like a girl" (no offense to some of the great women drummers in the world) need little in the way of corrective dynamics.



Setting up compression? You compress things that have a dynamic range too wide for the rest of the mix. You compress them until they have a dynamic range that fits more in line with the mix. There's no starting point, there's no short-cut.

 

[Horkin My Lunch]

I guess I forgot this part: do you usually set compression while the drummer plays the whole kit or do you work drum by drum? What is more time efficient? I'm not talking about "compression settings." I also understand that you should set up the drums sounds the way you want through micing, but I usually compress the kick, snare, and toms just a little bit while going in.

 

[Massive Master]

I tend to work one by one while listening to the entire mix - or at the very least, a drum mix.




This is also why I record 5-10 minute drum checks with particular patterns and rolls...